FOURTHCORE TEAM DEATHMATCH

October 28, 2010

Insubstantial sucks! It's the worst crime that you can perpetrate on your players: tedium. As written, the insubstantial property on monsters halves all damage, except for very odd corner cases. What it is supposed to do it represent the ethereal qualities of ghosts and the like; in fact, making them harder to hit. What has ended up happening is that monsters with the insubstantial quality have gotten about half their normal hit points. Which is good on one hand, I'd hate to have to fight encounters with standard HP insubstantial monsters, it'd take forever! On the other hand, it's pretty bad. Insubstantial + Half HP = just one more layer of math for someone to have to deal with. Here's what I propose you replace the description of insubstantial with, and also bump up the creature's hit points to be in line with its typical role and level counterparts:

InsubstantialAll attackers must reroll every attack roll made against this creature and take the lower of the two values, except if the attack has the fire, force, psychic, or radiant keyword.

Bam, there you go. The martial characters and anyone without access to these keywords are going to have a more difficult time actually hitting the creature, but certainly will still be able to defeat them. Arcane and Divine characters will be able to fight insubstantial creatures with no problem. It's entirely possible that this house rule would totally screw up your game. You may have a party full of fighters, warlords and rogues. They may get obliterated by a few paltry wraiths. This is the risk that D&D heroes must take.

October 26, 2010

Splug was a fantastic addition to Keep on the Shadowfell, although I think that far too many adventuring groups wrote off the little guy as just another annoying Goblin, there to kill and/or torture for information. They never realized his amazing roleplaying potential. I've seen Splug rise to be loved and cherished, welcomed as an old friend.

Please, give Splug a chance. Splug no hurt. Splug be good.

Splug NPC Ally (Level 2)This weak and cowardly Gobin has developed a liking to you, and will follow your orders as long as you treat him well.

October 25, 2010

Remains of Empire was a 3rd Level DDi adventure put out about a year ago (or more?), authored by a Kolja Raven Liquette. It is a varied mix of good and bad, but like any good Dungeon Master, I was able to distill out the bad and take the good for my own uses. Really, I think that's the best one can really expect from most published adventures. The gist of it is that the heroes stumble into a village under attack by drakes, they fight off the drakes, chase them back to their lair, and defeat the mastermind villain.

So, what's so bad about it? Well, firstly, the author or editor or whomever is in charge here is having a hard time grasping the full extent of the 4E ruleset. They got some generalities down, and they know how to get from point A to point B, but they are clearly struggling with the ruleset. It's hindering their storytelling. My feeling is that the author originally wrote this for another system, likely 3rd Edition, and then tried to hastily port it over to 4E. Here are my three biggest peeves about this adventure:

1. The Alpine Peak When the heroes are tracking backthe drakes to their lair, they have to cross a towering mountain peak.

The alpine peak rises steeply. It can be scaled onlywith a climber’s kit (hooks, hammer, and pitons) andrope, which the villagers will provide. The distanceto be climbed is 1,000 squares. The speed of ascentequals the slowest character’s climb speed per minuterather than per round. Total climbing times at variousspeeds are shown on the table. The climb itself istiring and slow but not especially dangerous. Everyonewill reach the peak without mishap; the onlyvariable is how long it takes and whether the climbersare ambushed, as noted below.

What function does tracking the speed up the mountain serve? What difference does an extra 4 hours make? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. These are needless numbers. At best, they take up room in the article and distract the reader. At worst, they eat up an hour of game time at the table as everyone tries to figure out what the group's climbing speed is, why it matters (it doesn't!), and should they make precautions to hurry it up. I like the idea of the mountain being the challenge. I like the idea of low-level characters having to face the bitter cold winds, icy goat paths, and crumbling stone of this thing. This could be a really good storytelling device, I imagine that in the author's home campaign is was really interesting, but here it's just algebra homework.

2. The Floating Debris It turns out that the drakes' lair is in the ruins of a shattered, floating castle. The imagery is excellent (more on that later), but the mechanics are wonky. Here, the author implies for the Dungeon Master to map out the entire debris field, with random tables. I kid you not. Here's an example, cut out for brevity:

And that's it as far as mechanics go for how this field of floating, shattered castle pieces are interacted with. To me, this implies that the author intended Dungeon Masters to map out every last Tiny size piece of rock, and then let PCs hop from one to the next, at increasingly higher elevations, like an Italian plumber. Do the drakes attack during this time? Are there any additional hazards? Are the players supposed to roll Athletics checks all afternoon and hope their character don't plummet 100ft to their deaths?

3. An OmissionThe last big peeve of mine can't be demonstrated by what's there, but more by what's not there. There are no combat encounters, skill challenges, hazards (besides what I've already talked about) that have anything unique to do with the fact that the PCs are on a floating, shattered castle. All the combat and skill challenges and well, everything, takes place in a typical dungeon layout with typical dungeon type enemies. The theme here is serpent cultists of Zehir, but that's hardly unique. I'm paying money for this adventure. Not very much when you break it down, but this is a paid product. And I'm getting generic encounters that I could have whipped up on my own in about 5 minutes with the monster builder, or just the DDi compendium.

RedemptionBut this adventure is also really great. The vividness of the fluff is awesome. If you haven't picked up on this yet, let me spell it out more clearly.

The adventure takes place in a floating castle that is also wrecked!!!

Huzzah! But the rules are really getting in the way here, or maybe the lack of rules to really capitalize on this cool idea. The author clearly knows what they're doing in terms of storytelling, but something junked up in the translation to DDi. The Calming the Drake skill challenge, wherein the PCs can gain a drake mount of their own, was fairly well done, but could be a lot better. I want it to be better, because I want these mechanics to be as cool and fun as the idea of the PCs riding through the skies on the back of a drake!So maybe that's my greatest peeve here. The adventure isn't living up to its potential, and I feel like it should.

What I intend to do in some upcoming posts is try to apply my skills to this great kernel of an adventure and let it grow into something truly remarkable.

October 22, 2010

One of my regular D&D game sessions (alternate Tuesday nights) is coming to an end. Like most groups that dissolve, we have a key player that is going to have to drop out of gaming for an extended period of time due to life changes. It's sad, but the changes are a very positive development for him, so pretty happy at the same time.

With this in mind, I went out to the forums of the internets in search of a new gaming group to join up with soon. I'm getting a little burned out with DMing one and a half sessions per week, so I really wanted to sit back, relax, and be a player for a little while. During my search, heres a post I found on a popular site used to find RPG players and groups:

I'm looking for a first edition AD&D game that could use another player. It's been a while since I rolled dice in anger, and I am itching to get involved again. I could even DM if there's enough interest, but I'm a little rusty. Don't be too surprised if it takes a session or two for me to get back up to speed.

I fucking hate this guy. He embodies so many of the bad habits and poor attitudes that make me consider throwing out all my dice, books, and minis and forsaking this social hellhole of a hobby.

Let me break it down, point-by-point:

+ You're looking for a specific style of a specific genre of a specific niche of a relatively little-known hobby. AD&D 1st Edition? Are you fucking with me? Because there are only about, I don't know, 0.0001% of the people in the world who even know what the fuck that is.

+ Here's my biggest peeve, this is a guy posting to the world that he is ready to joing a group. Newsflash, asshole, the whole world was not waiting with baited breath for your stunning announcement that you would do humanity a favor, come out of your mother's basement, and roll some dice with us. Jesus Mary and fucking Joseph. This is a word of warning to all you D&D gamers out there: if you really want to play a game, but no one is running a game, RUN YOUR OWN FUCKING GAME.

+ He does say that he'd be willing to DM. This very passive statement isn't great, although it bears noting that this guy ins't a complete toolbag.

+ Oh yeah, a caveat: this guy sucks at the rules for the game he's insisting on playing!

D&D is a social game, and you need to bring something to the table each and every session. Find something you're good at, something that people enjoy. Being great at the rules, easy to get along with, providing extra snacks/sodas, telling funny yet appropriate jokes, being a good host, being the goddamn DM, buying minis, having extras dice and pencils, printing character sheets and helping the DM with printing, buying supplements books. You get the idea, there's a lot you can be good at. Pick one.

Also, be accomodating. Don't close off yourself to a particular system or game element or way of playing just because you're a little unfamiliar. Embrace the new, or in some cases, the retro.

Lastly, take the bull by the horns. In fact, in every aspect of your life, D&D especially, stop being such a passive observer and get in there and do something. Make it happen, don't wait for change to stumble into you. Have the attitude of a heroic adventurer instead of a fucking ponce.

October 20, 2010

Sersa at Save vs. Death just went above and beyond his usual brand of mayhem and misery, giving the D&D world some really cool and creative encounters. Make your players think! This is exactly the kind of stuff I want to see more of in adventures.

October 19, 2010

The Ring of the Dragonborn EmperorMagic ItemThe signet ring worn by the dragonborn emperors for millennia. It is a symbol of power and a badge of office. The haunting echoes of the Arkhosian ancestors that ruled in times past make their presence felt to any who bears such a magnificent artifact.

The Five-Headed Vice + Property You must hoard one-quarter of all monetary wealth the party receives in your lair. Your lair can be any permanent, secure structure or hidden location of your choosing. If there is ever less than one-quarter of the party's monetary wealth stored in your lair, you lose the ability to use any encounter or daily attack powers granted by your class.

Additionally, you know the exact monetary value of any gems, jewelry, or art objects within your line of sight.

October 15, 2010

I feel that magic items are another proud nail in the 4E design. Don't get me wrong, out of all the editions of D&D and all the RPGs that I've had the pleasure of playing, 4th Edition, as always, pulls through with one of the most useful, creative, and robust systems out there.

But it's just not quite where I want it. There are a few points to it that bug me and don't work the way I'd like them to, rules as written at least. I'm obviously not the first perosn to write about these things, so please don't go thinking I'm some sort of insightful genius into a realm that no one else has tread. although I do think that I have a pretty elegant solution.

For one, I really don't like what I call the "enhancement bonus arms race". By this, I mean the constant upgrading, buying, and selling of magi items to keep the PCs enhancement bonus, their gear's 'plus', in the right range for their level. Even dropping down to just the three basics: weapon/implement, neck, armor; the games I've run with this idea the magic items feel cheap and common. Really cool abilities and effects are tossed aside in favor of a bigger enhancement bonus. Opening up a treasure chest or looting the corpse of a powerful foe begins to take on the qualities of buying groceries at the store. The items get predictable, and the rate of getting the items is quick and consistant. Or if it's not, the players rightfully call foul.

So, I want to bring a sense of wonder, imagination, amusement, and wait for it, magic back into items. The first step was getting rid of enhancement bonuses in items, and using the inherent enhancement bonus as presented in the DMG2. I use slightly different levels for when PCs receive the bonus (X3rd and X7th), but that's really splitting hairs*. Using the inherent enhancement bonus means that, in theory, the PCs don't even need magic items. If placing a magic item in the story makes sense, I do it. If it doesnt, then I don't. I really feel like D&D and the RPG hobby in general is going this way, as we all get a much better grasp on the mechanics of game design and enjoy the benefits of this currently optional ruleset in our home games. It's built into Gamma World (in a sense), it'll be built into the next iteration of what the designers at WotC are doing right now. Just like when Star Wars Saga Edition debuted new mechanics (swift/minor actions, simplified conditions, 5 minute spell recharge, etc.) and they ended up prominantly in D&D 4E.

Whoa, I'm rambling. Back on track...

Secondly, I want all of my magic items to come with a great cost. In countless literary sources, a magic item has been a thing of dangerous power. The One Ring of Power in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is a great example. In fact in the expanded literary works of Tolkien, there are many more examples of magic items that have caused both harm and good. The blade Anglachelis a good example, of which I will at one point post up my interpretation of. Not only that, but having great drawbacks in magic items forces yet another interesting decision point on the player. Do I bring this magic item with my character? Do the costs outwiegh the benefits? Some magic items may have minor drawbacks that only serve to add flavor to an encounter when they come up. Ah! The sword's curse bites you in the ass this fight! Others are a day-to-day event.

Lastly, and very importantly, the items need to have wicked cool powers. A cursed items is going to be dropped real quick unless you have some very tempting bait for the player making the decisions; either in the vein of more powerful effects (such as using a common magic item's effect from the next tier up), or something just bizarre and a little unpredictable. Think of the Deck of Many Things, and just tone it down a bit.

One house rule that I've been implementing in conjunction with these new magic items has been that PC's are not allowed access to the enchant magic item and disenchant magic item rituals, although I have allowed all of the players to try their hand at creating a starting magic item for their character. I'm not really sure how I want to handle this one. Magic item creation is definitely a part of D&D culture, as it were. Maybe I'll write more about this on another post.

This of course brings up something that's been on my mind lately: Essentials' magic item rarity. With the new common/uncommon/rare setup, it's entirely possibly that WotC has beaten me to the punch on this one. We'll see how it is when these rare's start cropping up in official WotC products, although after seeing a really bitchin' Tome in a recent Chaos Scar adventure, I'm very excited and optimistic.

With all this in mind, be prepared to see a new, updated model for the evocative Ring of the Dragonborn Emperor. I'll be posting that on this coming Tuesday, I believe.

* Why 3rd and 7th levels for the inherent enhancement bonus? I like to keep the PCs' attack and defense numbers at a smooth transition. When you get big jumps in the numbers, you end up with entire levels where the PCs' aer "behind the numbers curve" and/or ahead of it. I don't like that. Bad math makes bad encounters which ruins my medieval experience. So, having enhancement bonus bumps at even numbered levels doesn't work, since everyone's getting the "+1/2 level" boost. It's especially wonky at 4th and/or 8th when the PCs are getting a bump due to increased ability scores. Also, pushing the enhancement bonus increase to the edge of the Tier (at 9th) would put the PCs pretty far behind the curve for a lot of their adventuring careers. Thus, I've found 3rd and 7th levels to be pretty sweet spots for throwing in enhancement bonuses.

October 14, 2010

Here's something I've used before to great effect. It is fun and full of destruction. I gaurantee that when you put one (or several) of these in an encounter, fun things happen. The basic premise is that the encounter features a tall structure with an unstable point near the base. A character comes up, pushes or hits the thing in just the right spot, and it comes crumbling down. At heroic, the effect is represented well with some ancient ruins (think of The Pantheon ruins in Greece); at Paragon Tier, a three-story house; at Epic Tier, your players are knocking over entire castle towers.

The mechanics were inspired by the wizard spell Wake of Fire from Class Acts: Wizard in Dragon 388. The gist of it is a three-stage collapse with the tower/house/column twisting in whatever way the character decides during its descent. You end up with a very cinematic effect. What more can I say, this one is really cool.

c Collapsing Column Single Use Terrain (Level 5)You find the weak spot in the structure of the ancient ruins and give it a good hit.Single UseStandard ActionClose blast 2Check: Dungeoneering DC 22Target: Each creature in blast.Attack: +10 vs. Armor ClassHit: 2d8+10 damage and the target is knocked prone.Miss: Half damage.Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a second attack
using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square.Secondary Target: Each creature in a close blast 2. Secondary Attack: +10 vs. Armor Class Hit: 2d8+10 damage and the target is knocked prone. Miss: Half damage. Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a third attack using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square. Tertiary Target: Each creature in a close blast 2.Tertairy Attack: +10 vs. Armor ClassHit: 2d8+10 damage and the target is knocked prone.Miss: Half damage.Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain.

c Collapsing House Single Use Terrain (Level 15)You find the weak spot in the structure of the house and give it a good hit.Single UseStandard ActionClose blast 3Check: Dungeoneering DC 30Target: Each creature in blast.Attack: +20 vs. Armor ClassHit: 2d12+21 damage and the target is knocked prone.Miss: Half damage.Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a second attack using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square.Secondary Target: Each creature in a close blast 3. Secondary Attack: +20 vs. Armor Class Hit: 2d12+21 damage and the target is knocked prone. Miss: Half damage. Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a third attack using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square. Tertiary Target: Each creature in a close blast 3.Tertairy Attack: +20 vs. Armor ClassHit: 2d12+21 damage and the target is knocked prone.Miss: Half damage.Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain.

c Collapsing Tower Single Use Terrain (Level 25)You find the weak spot in the structure of the castle tower and give it a good hit.Single UseStandard ActionClose blast 5Check: Dungeoneering DC 38Target: Each creature in blast.Attack: +30 vs. Armor ClassHit: 4d8+30 damage and the target is knocked prone.Miss: Half damage.Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a second attack using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square.Secondary Target: Each creature in a close blast 5. Secondary Attack: +30 vs. Armor Class Hit: 4d8+30 damage and the target is knocked prone. Miss: Half damage. Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a third attackusing any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square.Tertiary Target: Each creature in a close blast 5.Tertairy Attack: +30 vs. Armor ClassHit: 4d8+30 damage and the target is knocked prone.Miss: Half damage.Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain.

October 12, 2010

Following up on my previous post, here is my write-up of all of the Monster Manual mounts; which is to say, all the creatures in the MM that have a mount keyword. In the future, I'll be writing up additional mounts that either do not traditionally have a mount keyword, or that should have one. I wrote these up actually quite awhile ago, hence the older style stat block formatting.

I strongly recommend that if you're planning on using these mounts in your own game, that their stat blocks and additional rules be presented to your players early and in a clear way.Not only have mounts had their usual shortcomings in terms of game mechanics, but their stats have also been traditionally hidden away in the Monster Manual; domain of teh dreaded Dungeon Master. Open these up for the players at your table, and get their imaginations going.

HEROIC TIER MOUNTS

========================

Warhorse Large MountCost 380 gpHP 29; Bloodied 14; see also out of controlAC 17; Fortitude 16, Reflex 14, Will 14Speed 8Ride (move; at-will)The warhorse moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The warhorse turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the warhorse, or if the warhorse is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control. When the warhorse is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Charger (while mounted by a friendly rider of 3rd level or higher) + MountThe warhorse grants its rider a +5 bonus to damage rolls on charge attacks

Giant Ant Large MountCost 420 gpHP 27; Bloodied 13; see also out of controlAC 18; Fortitude 17, Reflex 17, Will 14Speed 9Ride (move; at-will)The giant ant moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The giant ant turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the giant ant, or if the giant ant is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the giant ant is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Skitter (while mounted by a friendly rider of 4th level or higher) + MountThe giant ant shifts 2 squares instead of 1 square when it shifts.

Riding Dolphin Large Mount (aquatic)Cost 550 gpHP 40; Bloodied 20; see also out of controlAC 17; Fortitude 19, Reflex 17, Will 15Speed swim 6Ride (move; at-will)The riding dolphin moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The riding dolphin turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the riding dolphin, or if the riding dolphin is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the riding dolphin is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Aquatic Charge (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher) + MountThe riding dolphin’s rider deals +1d10 damage on charge attacks. While in water, the rider also gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls against creatures without a swim speed.

Rage Drake Large MountCost 550 gpHP 38; Bloodied 19; see also out of controlAC 17; Fortitude 17, Reflex 15, Will 15Speed 8Ride (move; at-will)The rage drake moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The rage drake turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the rage drake, or if the rage drake is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the rage drake is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Raging Mount (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher) + MountThe rage drake grants its rider a +2 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls with melee attacks.

Dire Wolf Large MountCost 550 gpHP 33; Bloodied 16; see also out of controlAC 19; Fortitude 18, Reflex 17, Will 16Speed 8Ride (move; at-will)The dire wolf moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The dire wolf turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the dire wolf, or if the dire wolf is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the dire wolf is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Pack Hunter (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher) + MountThe dire wolf’s rider gains combat advantage against an enemy if it has at least one ally other than its mount adjacent to the target.

Pegasus Large MountCost 550 gpHP 32; Bloodied 16; see also out of controlAC 18; Fortitude 17, Reflex 15, Will 13Speed 4, fly 10, overland flight 15Ride (move; at-will)The pegasus moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The pegasus turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the pegasus, or if the pegasus is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the pegasus is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Aerial Agility (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher) + MountWhile flying, a pegasus grants its rider a +1 bonus to all defenses.

Hippogriff Large MountCost 550 gpHP 33; Bloodied 16; see also out of controlAC 21; Fortitude 21, Reflex 19, Will 17Speed 4, fly 6, overland flight 12Ride (move; at-will)The hippogriff moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The hippogriff turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the hippogriff, or if the hippogriff is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the hippogriff is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Sturdy Mount (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher) + MountWhen the hippogriff is forced to move, it moves 1 less square than normal. When an attack would knock it or its rider prone, the hippogriff can roll an immediate saving throw to prevent it or its rider from falling prone.

Giant RidingLizard Large MountCost 1,000 gpHP 45; Bloodied 22; see also out of controlAC 18; Fortitude 20, Reflex 18, Will 14Speed 4, climb 4Ride (move; at-will)The giant riding lizard moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The giant riding lizard turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the giant riding lizard, or the giant riding lizard is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the giant riding lizard is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Combined Attack (while mounted by a friendly rider of 6th level or higher; at-will) + MountWhen the giant riding lizard’s rider makes a melee attack against an adjacent target and hits, the giant riding lizard can make a claw attack against the same target.m Bite (standard; at-will)+10 vs. AC; 2d6+5 damage.

Dire Boar Large MountCost 1,000 gpHP 42; Bloodied 21; see also out of controlAC 17; Fortitude 21, Reflex 17, Will 16Speed 8Ride (move; at-will)The dire boar moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The dire boar turns up to 90 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the dire boar, or the dire boar is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the dire boar is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Rabid Charger (while mounted by a friendly rider of 6th level or higher; at-will) + MountWhen the rider makes a charge attack, the dire boar makes a gore attack against the same target.m Gore (standard; at-will)+9 vs. AC; 1d10+4 damage, the target is pushed 2 squares and knocked prone.

Rhinoceros Large MountCost 1,500 gpHP 41; Bloodied 20; see also out of controlAC 23; Fortitude 23, Reflex 21, Will 18Speed 6Ride (move; at-will)The rhinoceros moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The rhinoceros turns up to 90 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the rhinoceros, or if the rhinoceros is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the rhinoceros is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Crushing Charge (while mounted by a friendly rider of 7th level or higher; at-will) + MountWhen the rhino’s rider makes a charge attack, the rhinoceros can make a gore attack against the same target.m Gore (standard; at-will)+13 vs. AC; 2d6+5 damage.

Griffon Large MountCost 1,500 gpHP 49; Bloodied 24; see also out of controlAC 18; Fortitude 19, Reflex 15, Will 14Speed 6, fly 10, overland flight 15Ride (move; at-will)The griffon moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The griffon turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the griffon, or if the griffon is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the griffon is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Rabid Charger (while mounted by a friendly rider of 7th level or higher; at-will) + MountWhen the griffon’s rider makes a charge attack, the griffon can make two claw attacks against the same target.m Claw (standard; at-will)+10 vs. AC; 2d6+7 damage.

Riding Shark Large Mount (aquatic)Cost 1,900 gpHP 44; Bloodied 22; see also out of controlAC 22; Fortitude 21, Reflex 22, Will 17Speed swim 11Ride (move; at-will)The riding shark moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The riding shark turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the riding shark, or if the riding shark is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the riding shark is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Deft Swimmer (while mounted by a friendly rider of 8th level or higher; at-will) + MountThe riding shark’s rider gains a +2 bonus to Armor Class against opportunity attacks. While in water, the rider also gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls against creatures without a swim speed.

Elephant Huge MountCost 1,900 gpHP 55; Bloodied 27; see also out of controlAC 20; Fortitude 22, Reflex 15, Will 18Speed 8Ride (move; at-will)The elephant moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The elephant turns up to 90 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the elephant, or if the elephant is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the elephant is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Trampling Charge (while mounted by a friendly rider of 8th level or higher; at-will) + MountWhen the elephant’s rider makes a charge attack, the elephant can make move through one Medium or smaller creature’s space and make a stamp attack against that creature.m Stamp (standard; at-will)+11 vs. AC; 2d8+5 damage, and the target is knocked prone.

Blade Spider Large MountCost 2,800 gpHP 65; Bloodied 32; see also out of controlAC 22; Fortitude 21, Reflex 20, Will 18Speed 6, climb 6 (spider climb)Ride (move; at-will)The blade spider moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The blade spider turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the blade spider, or if the blade spider is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.

When the blade spider is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Combined Attack (while mounted by a friendly rider of 10th level or higher; at-will) + MountWhen the blade spider’s rider makes a melee attack, the blade spider makes a claw attack as a free action against the same target.m Claw + Poison (standard; at-will)+13 vs. AC; 1d8+5 damage, and the target takes ongoing 5 poison damage and is weakened (save ends both).

Celestial Charger Large MountCost 2,800 gpHP 55; Bloodied 27; see also out of controlAC 26; Fortitude 24, Reflex 22, Will 21Saving Throws +5 against fear effectsSpeed 8; see also zephyr footingRide (move; at-will)The celestial charger moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The celestial charger turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the celestial charger, or if the celestial charger is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.

When the celestial charger is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Zephyr FootingThe celestial charger ignores difficult terrain and can move across any solid or liquid surface.Celestial Charge (while mounted by a friendly rider of 10th level or higher; at-will) + MountOn charge attacks, a celestial charger’s rider deals +2d6 radiant damage and gains the radiant keyword.

Wyvern Large MountCost 2,800 gpHP 53; Bloodied 26; see also out of controlAC 24; Fortitude 24, Reflex 20, Will 19Speed 4, fly 8 (hover)Ride (move; at-will)The wyvern moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will) .The wyvern turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the wyvern, or if the wyvern is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the wyvern is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.Aerial Agility (while mounted by a friendly rider of 10th level or higher; at-will) + MountWhile flying, a wyvern grants its rider a +2 bonus to all defenses.

October 11, 2010

Gamma World has given us a great mechanic for energy shields. Recently, WotC put out a preview for an awesome Solo killer robot. The robot has regenerating shields, as seen below:

Force Field (while not bloodied)
The Eradicator gains 10 temporary hit points at the start of each of its turns.

This is very slick way of doing energy shields. I will be stealing this idea for anysessions of scifi games that I run in the future, such as StarCraft. I'm thinking this would be the big racial power for Protoss characters, called Shield of Adun. I'd like to have this as a scaling effect, so I'm thinking Temporary Hit Points equal to 2 + 1/2 level, which would be right in line with invigorating assault, a Cleric at-will attack that grants temporary hit points as an effect. Also, a feat that sets the scaling temporary hit points in line with standard racial resistances:

Improved Shield of Adun

Prerequisite: Protoss

Benefit: Your Shield of Adun provides +3 temporary hit points.

The monster has the (robot) keyword, clearly a renaming of the (construct) keyword. Something of note: in Gamma World, robots have immunity to poison only. In D&D 4E, constructs have immunity to disease and poison. I've got a feeling that disease is being eliminated from teh game entirely as a keyword, and these design decisions will filter thir way to D&D proper. Which is all good and well with me. I mean, when's the last time you saw a PC's power with the disease keyword? As of this posting, there are ZERO. (Unless there are some in Dark Sun?) So, effectively, every monster is immune to disease because PCs are incapable of giving them a disease.

Lastly, if you look at how this creature is put together, it becomes very obvious that it is a reskinned Beholder. I love that. I think what happened was that the designers saw a cool monster type in D&D that works well, the Solo Beholder, and ported it over to their new game system. What I think they probably didn't thinkof was how this teaches all the DM's out there how to do something similar for their games. This a wonderful example of how to reskin a monster to your personal theme.

October 10, 2010

Quest XP is a great idea. Now, it's time to take it further. I know everyone is scared of change, just look at all the grognards out there, so we'll take this nice and slow. Baby steps.

The experience point is the lab rat food pellet of the D&D world. It's not so much a special treat, that's more in the realm that magic items have occupied (or should occupy), but it does reinforce player behavior. Very strongly.

What I've seen often in newly formed groups, especially those with many players not familiar with the milieu of D&D, will be a point very early on in the campaign, almost always in the first adventure, where they collectively decide on how the adventuring group is going to behave. There is a pull towards hack'n'slash, kill'em all combat. There is a pull towards using creative skills to accomplish goals, with force being used as a method of last resort. There are other decisions being made here, for example what kind of morality the group will have, but that's beyond this particular lecture. These decisions will very rarely be spoken upon. Often, the players are only dimly aware of what they're doing, how they're setting up the path for the rest of the campaign. Or, sometimes they will know very well what they're doing, but have trouble expressing it to the other players at the table, or worry that talking about it in the open would be some sort of faux pas.

So anyway, new groups go on their first adventure together, and they try out different things in the game and see how things work. It's not unlike the process an infant goes through with just about everything, espacially on a social level. They experiment, see the results, see how others react to what they do or say. New players to RPGs will often not really know what they are supposed to do. No one teaches this crap in school. So they look around for clues and social signals from others. They look for positive feedback on what they are having their character do.

Let's just say that on the first chance they get, a new adventuring group tries a creative, thoughtful way to solve the plot of an adventure; for example, they talk their way past guards, or they come up with a solution to the plot that hadn't been accounted for. Rules-As-Written, they are looking at getting 1.2 Encounters worth of XP: a Major and a Minor Quest reward. Do the math, you'll see that I'm right. But everyone feels ok that they solved the plot, and saw a small reward. I think it's really cool to see creative ways to solve the plot. I, as well as many others, are always looking for something to surpirse us in this game. We're a bit jaded.

The next go-around, the group is a little antsy and just decides to have their characters kick in the door and chop orcs heads. There's nothing wrong with this, of course. I love this style, it's very visceral, and it's a necessary part of the whole RPG experience. The group quickly finds that slaying a few meaningless Goblins in a dirty hole in the hillside grants them WAY more XP than the entire plot. Two full combat encounters, that's all you need to trump what is really the entire reason the PCs are adventuring in the first place. They group gets a gush of experience, and instantly it dawns on them that the way to pimp out your chracter, leveling up, finding treasure, getting that reward of XP, that fix of praise from the DM and the game system.

Kill monsters, take their stuff.

It's a numbers game, and the numbers add up very stongly in the favor of murder. If you want more creativity, roleplaying, bribing guards, scaling castle walls, and in general less combat, the solution becomes simple. Increase all Quest XP, major and minor. Make combat merely a means to an end. The real goalis to solve the adventure. That's where the reward is. Combats are dangerous, or tedious, or whatever you make them; but, they do not get the player what she wants. My suggestion would be to quadruple the XP for Quest rewards and half the rewards for combat. I think you'll find that your players, whether they are consciously thinking about it or not, will start seeing the adventure in more interesting terms. They will come to the realization that combat has a high real time to XP reward factor, and solving plots can get you levelled up for less risk and less time at the table.

October 9, 2010

I like my magic items like I like my steak. If you order a steak well done, you're dead to me.

With the new Essentials line of D&D products, WotC introduced a new rarity scheme to magic items. Similar to cards from Magic the Gathering, magic items in D&D now come in common, uncommon, and rare. The initial descriptions and narrative suggests that common items would be preforming the basic math arms race (which can be done away with via inherent enhancement bonuses), and rare items present weirder, wackier, more power items that an adventurer would only have one or two of. Sounds exciting, right? Putting the magic back into magic item, right? So far, there have been two rare magic items released through DDi. Here's a quick run down on the cool, new parts of them. These items have other powers and properties, but those are in-line with what we've seen before in the game.

from The Dungeon of the Ghost Tower (Dungeon 182), a magic tome that has the following:

Property: When you use this tome as an implement, you treat all allies as enemies until the end of your next turn.

from The Circle of Fangs Revisited (Dungeon 183), a magic ring that has the following:

Power (At-Will + Polymorph): Standard Action.Effect: Your head assumes the form of a darkmantle’s head, though smaller. You also gain a hissing, high-pitched voice. This effect lasts until you dismiss it (which takes 3 minutes). If youaren’t wearing the ring when you wish to dismiss the effect, you must use the Remove Affliction ritual to end the effect.

I like both of these items, although I especially like the tome's property. Both put in some elements into the game that we haven't seen too much in this edition. The ring's power is very situational, though, and really only comes up as worthwhile within the context of the article. As a standard action, it's also a very harsh (in terms of economy of actions) and taxing power. This really should have been a minor action. Also, the 3 minute dismissal time seems completely arbitrary. That tome's power, however, is a nice piece of design work. As a property, you're forcing the player to deal with the tome's effects all the time. The ring's weird ability can be completely ignored with almost no detriment to the PC. Lastly, while it is a step in the right direction, and by that I mean the direction that I want things to go, the tome could use some sharpening of its teeth. Tomes are available primarily to wizards and psions. Most wizard spells don't distinguish between ally and enemy as is, and most psion disciplines are single target. Or at least there are enough spells and disciplines available to a crafty player to make the tome's penalty a moot point.

October 8, 2010

I'm really excited about the upcoming Gamma World D&D product coming out. Already from the previews, I can read between the lines and see a lot of cool, innovative designs going on behind the screen. This reminds me a lot of when WotC was developing and came out with the Star Wars Sage Edition. Then as is now, there was a development of a scifi themed RPG in tandem with WotC's flagship, Dungeons & Dragons. Then, as is now, we saw a lot of crazy new ideas thrown in there, and I suspect we will see the same kind of excellent design come out of it. Some quick thoughts about what I like so far:

Skill List - Gamma World has an alternate skill list. I'm not sure how much it deviates from 4E, it may be almost identical besides some name changes (ie. arcana --> science), but let's just think about this one for a second. First, everytime a character tries to learn information about robots, he can shout out "SCIENCE!" and it's totally cool and in-character. Next, it highlight the versatility and flexibility of the 4E skill system that I've been using in my scifi themed projects at home (StarCraft and Half-Life).

Action Points - monsters don't get them! In a way. I actually think they've been done away with altogether. From the monster previews, we saw that a Solo monster gets an encounter ability (free action) to take a Standard Action, and it recharges when bloodied. Hence, 2 extra Standard Actions, just like they would get if they had 2 Action Points. Putting the Action Point mechanical into a seperate power entry makes me think it's just not in the game.

Terrestrial, Laser - This is kind of minute here, but I like the simple change in tone and theme to the game by chaging keywords and monster origins (natural becomes terrestrial, laser and radiation damage types, + becomes "radiation symbol").

Inherent Bonuses - +1/2 Level is out. The mechanics for PCs' powers have been streamlined again, throwing out the plethora of miscellaneous bonuses that characters got through levelling, magic items, and feast to keep up with the +1 to attacks and defenses that monsters received. I love it, and I expect to see that kind of thinking become more prominent in WotC's products in the future.

October 7, 2010

Mounts, like NPC Allies, never sat well with me in the D&D game. That is to say, the rules supporting mounts never sat well with me. As written, mounts function as bonus monsters allied with the PCs, with a few added bells and whistles due to the Mounted Combat feat. They eat up experience points, slow down combat in general, and allow the mount's PC rider to have almost double the amount of "stage time" at the table. I've been playing this version of D&D on a regular weekly basis since Keep on the Shadowfell, and additional one-shots and other short-lived groups. That's about 30 months of fairly intense gaming, and in all that time, I have never ONCE seen a PC bring a mount into combat. Clearly, the rules don't work here. If something is written into the core rulebooks, and is never used, it is simply wasting space.

What typically will happen at the table, especially in groups where the majority of players are rather ignorant of the complicated mount rules, will be that players will get a stroke of inspiration and imagination. They imagine their PC galliantly riding into battle on a celestial steed, or soaring above the skies atop a leather-skinned drake. They often ask, "what kind of feats/skills/etc. does my character need to ride one of these beasts?", and they are elated to find that their heroic characters need nothing extra to do so.

...then the Dungeon Master or rules-lawyer in the group will explain the full extent of the mount rules. They talk about XP loss, and the once-excited player scraps the idea and is dejected for the rest of the session, if not the rest of the campaign.

I do think mounts should have a place in the game. Certainly not in every session, maybe not for every character, but they need to have a useful presence. So in making mounts work in the game, the very first thing I wrote down was "NO XP LOSS". XP loss is utterly intolerable to players. For those of you who remember, think back on 3rd Edition's magic item creation rules. There may have been a few sticklers here and there, there may have been a few corner cases where it was worthwhile (ie. wand of cure light wounds); but on the whole players simply didn't pursue this option for their PCs. Taking these things into consideration, I looked at the existing vehicle rules from Adventurer's Vault as a guideline. I also cut all of the mounts' Hit Points in half from their published values. With the possibility of a single stray burst or blast sending the PC hurting off on an out of control mount, your players will be forced to strategize, plan, and make a meaningful choice as to whether they bring their mounts with them on a particular adventure. The HP’s as written are so high that the Out of Control penalty simply never comes up, and so it's never an interesting question whether to bring the mounts or not. For costs, I used the highest treasure parcel value per level and reasoned that it includes the cost of buying the mount, saddle, and associated upkeep costs. Don't make your PCs worry about the money for food and stabling if the mount is in a civilized town, it'll just annoy everyone with tedium. Increase or decrease the base cost of the mount if you feel like the mounts are wrecking your combat or simply not being used.

I haven't been able to put my mount rules into too much actual use, at least not as much as I'd like to have seen. Players are hesitant on dropping gold on a set of rules that, once upon a time, left a bad taste in their mouth. I've also noticed that many players reason that horses and the like wouldn't be comfortable going into underground dungeons. Bill the Pony sure didn't. So, like all of the new rules I post here, please understand that these new rules may just break your game into pieces.

Mounts===============

Use the Mount rules as presented in the DMG (p.46), except for the following:

+ Actions: While mounted, a mount has no actions of its own. A PC can use its own set of actions to control the mount, as indicated in the mount's statistics. A mount in combat with no rider will become Out of Control, attempting to flee the area as soon as possible.

+ Experience: Mounts are never considered for purposes of calculating experience points or encounter difficulty.

Riding Horse Large MountCost 200 gpHP 18; Bloodied 9; see also out of controlAC 14; Fortitude 15, Reflex 13, Will 10Speed 8Ride (move; at-will)The riding horse moves up to its speed and remains In Control.Turn About (move; at-will)The riding horse turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.Out of ControlIf there is no rider on the riding horse, or if the riding horse is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.When the riding horse is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.

Next time, I'll spill out all of the Monster Manual's heroic tier mounts.

October 5, 2010

Allies (henchmen, cohorts, etc.) have always had a place in D&D. From the game's earliest incarnations, there have been "mooks" that player characters could hire to do the grunt work for them of exploring trapped passages, hauling heavy loot, and providing a buffer between the PC and the nearest Orc's spear. 4th Edition, as I'm sure you know, very purposefully and very strongly limits the number of actions a player may take with a character. Standard, Move, Minor on their turn. Immediate and opportunity attacks when it's not their turn. This is done to try and spread the spotlight time that all the players get at the table. You don't want any single player taking a very long time per turn, or signifigantly longer than the other players, because then all the other players get bored and frustrated. It stands to reason, then, that henchmen would be totaly anathema to this concept. For some disposable income, couldn't one simply buy a few companions, and have the same player control an army of characters? The DMG2 attempts to address some of this, but I feel like their solutions were a little sloppy. They felt awkward at the table.

What I've been doing is treating NPC Allies in a similar fashion to Wondrous Magic items. But, they're more like communal, group items that can get killed. Any PC in the group can spend one of their actions to make an NPC Ally that they have line of sight and line of effect to do the same action, as shown in their stat block. NPC Allies count as allies in the technical sense (ie. they can provide flanking) and a PC can spend a minor action to make them do a non-combat, simple task such as opening a door, picking up an object, etc.

The NPC Allies I've made all function like minions, in that they have 1 HP and can't be killed on a miss effect, but they all also have a feature (Guarded by Heroes) to keep them alive a little longer. I've jotted down appropriate Levels for the NPC Allies as a rough indication of when the PCs should meet them, and how I figured out their defenses and attacks (if any). Many of the NPCs I'll be posting will be familiar to those of us who slogged through the H-Series of adventures.

Another feature I like to include in my NPC Allies, when I can, are the foils and flaws to their personality. I generally see NPC Allies as neither strictly beneficial nor strictly harmful, so I don't factor them into any XP or wealth calculations. They are there, and the PCs can take them with them or not. With the static defenses the NPC's have compared to the escalating attack bonuses of increasingly higher level encounters, the players will always eventually come to conclusion that their lower-level NPC's are doing them more harm than good, getting in front of the real heroes and landing themselves in trouble. I've actually seen a lot of resentment towards NPC's who don't have desirable special abilities. The players see them, rightfully so, as just an easy way for monsters to nail the group. I've also seen attachment to NPC's who do have traits that helped the group out at some pooint in time, attachment to the point of irrationality and tactical mistakes; an inability to let their 'best buddy' stay back in town. That's roleplaying for you, right there, and it's really something to see.

Enough blather, here is one of my latest NPC Allies, Steven Deschaine. He is a toughened freedom fighter, resisting the tyrannical rule of the Arkhosian Empire. He also is a bit of a bully and womanizer. My thanks to Ryan O'Rourke, who provided the story for this character.

=================

Steven Deschaine NPC Ally (Level 10)Agent of the Order of the Sheltering Hand.

October 4, 2010

Terrain Powers and Features are really the bread and butter of what this blog is about. In my experience, and I'm sure I'm not alone here, when I read a new published adventure, the things the interests me most are the terrain elements and features of the area. I don't care much about a page full of monsters stats, although I do appreciate that they're there for the DM's who are printing right from the PDF. In all likelihood, the PC's in my group aren't going to be the exact level the adventure was intended for (or even the right tier!), and so I'm going to be redoing a lot of the monsters anyway. Also, the plot is going to be hard for me to really work with. Now, I love the plots that a lot of published adventures have. Some of them are really awesome, and are great inspirations. However, very few line up exactly with how my current campaign is running at that time.

I can always rely on terrain elements and creative features to find a home in my game. They oftentimes inspire an encounter by themselves, and sometimes an entire adventure. They're cinematic, place narrative control that is easy to figure out (if you print them and hand them out at the table!) in the hands of timid players, and make the encounter memorable and distinguishable from the countless other straight up "warband" encounters out there. They're an unpredictable element. They're something new that the PC's now have to consider. They're a halfling chef smashing your character's face with a wheel of cheddar. They're awesome.

Be on the lookout for some wicked hardcore terrain elements in the near future.